Description
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop
Patch series "mm/damon: unurgent fixes for infinite loop, NULL de-ref and
races", v1.1.
Sashiko found a few issues in DAMON that could cause infinite loop, NULL
dereference and monitoring results degradation. The first two sounds
scary but the infinite loop happens only under unreasonable user setup.
The NULL dereference is only in a unit test. Monitoring results
degradation is trivial since it is only best-effort, and those happens
from only unlikely races. Still those are bugs that better to fix if
possible. Fix those.
This patch (of 6):
Due to online parameter update like events, the number of DAMON regions
could be higher than the user-set upper limit. kdamond_merge_regions()
repeats merge regions until the number meets the limit, while doubling the
merge threshold up to the theoretical maximum threshold. It is tried only
up to the theoretical maximum threshold because even the aggressive
merging can fail from reducing the number of regions under the
user-defined upper limit. For example, there could be many user-defined
non-contiguous regions that cannot be merged.
The threshold based loop break condition is evaluated by comparing the
threshold for the next merging try against the theoretical maximum
threshold. If max_thres is larger than UINT_MAX / 2, doubling the
threshold could make it overflow, and bypass the loop break condition. In
the case, if the number of regions cannot be reduced under the upper limit
like explained above, the loop will run infinitely.
Prevent the case by doing the break condition check before doubling the
threshold. Also, prevent the threshold exceeding the maximum threshold,
as it could overflow and apply the wrong merge threshold.
This issue is unlikely to occur in real world, since having the max_thres
higher than UINT_MAX / 2 require unrealistically large aggregation
intervals compared to the sampling interval. Also, it requires an
unrealistically large number of uncontiguous regions setup. Nonetheless,
the consequence is bad and the fix is simple.
The issue was discovered [1] by Sashiko.
mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop
Patch series "mm/damon: unurgent fixes for infinite loop, NULL de-ref and
races", v1.1.
Sashiko found a few issues in DAMON that could cause infinite loop, NULL
dereference and monitoring results degradation. The first two sounds
scary but the infinite loop happens only under unreasonable user setup.
The NULL dereference is only in a unit test. Monitoring results
degradation is trivial since it is only best-effort, and those happens
from only unlikely races. Still those are bugs that better to fix if
possible. Fix those.
This patch (of 6):
Due to online parameter update like events, the number of DAMON regions
could be higher than the user-set upper limit. kdamond_merge_regions()
repeats merge regions until the number meets the limit, while doubling the
merge threshold up to the theoretical maximum threshold. It is tried only
up to the theoretical maximum threshold because even the aggressive
merging can fail from reducing the number of regions under the
user-defined upper limit. For example, there could be many user-defined
non-contiguous regions that cannot be merged.
The threshold based loop break condition is evaluated by comparing the
threshold for the next merging try against the theoretical maximum
threshold. If max_thres is larger than UINT_MAX / 2, doubling the
threshold could make it overflow, and bypass the loop break condition. In
the case, if the number of regions cannot be reduced under the upper limit
like explained above, the loop will run infinitely.
Prevent the case by doing the break condition check before doubling the
threshold. Also, prevent the threshold exceeding the maximum threshold,
as it could overflow and apply the wrong merge threshold.
This issue is unlikely to occur in real world, since having the max_thres
higher than UINT_MAX / 2 require unrealistically large aggregation
intervals compared to the sampling interval. Also, it requires an
unrealistically large number of uncontiguous regions setup. Nonetheless,
the consequence is bad and the fix is simple.
The issue was discovered [1] by Sashiko.
Published:
2026-09-16
Score:
n/a
EPSS:
n/a
KEV:
No
Impact:
n/a
Action:
n/a
Analysis
Analysis and contextual insights are available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Default status is the baseline for the product, each version can override it (e.g. patched versions marked unaffected).
| Vendor | Product | Default status | Versions | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linux | Linux | unaffected |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Linux | Linux | affected |
|
No data.
No data.
No data available yet.
Remediation
No vendor fix or workaround currently provided.
Additional remediation guidance may be available on OpenCVE Cloud.
Tracking
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Advisories
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References
History
Wed, 16 Sep 2026 10:45:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop Patch series "mm/damon: unurgent fixes for infinite loop, NULL de-ref and races", v1.1. Sashiko found a few issues in DAMON that could cause infinite loop, NULL dereference and monitoring results degradation. The first two sounds scary but the infinite loop happens only under unreasonable user setup. The NULL dereference is only in a unit test. Monitoring results degradation is trivial since it is only best-effort, and those happens from only unlikely races. Still those are bugs that better to fix if possible. Fix those. This patch (of 6): Due to online parameter update like events, the number of DAMON regions could be higher than the user-set upper limit. kdamond_merge_regions() repeats merge regions until the number meets the limit, while doubling the merge threshold up to the theoretical maximum threshold. It is tried only up to the theoretical maximum threshold because even the aggressive merging can fail from reducing the number of regions under the user-defined upper limit. For example, there could be many user-defined non-contiguous regions that cannot be merged. The threshold based loop break condition is evaluated by comparing the threshold for the next merging try against the theoretical maximum threshold. If max_thres is larger than UINT_MAX / 2, doubling the threshold could make it overflow, and bypass the loop break condition. In the case, if the number of regions cannot be reduced under the upper limit like explained above, the loop will run infinitely. Prevent the case by doing the break condition check before doubling the threshold. Also, prevent the threshold exceeding the maximum threshold, as it could overflow and apply the wrong merge threshold. This issue is unlikely to occur in real world, since having the max_thres higher than UINT_MAX / 2 require unrealistically large aggregation intervals compared to the sampling interval. Also, it requires an unrealistically large number of uncontiguous regions setup. Nonetheless, the consequence is bad and the fix is simple. The issue was discovered [1] by Sashiko. | |
| Title | mm/damon/core: avoid infinite kdamond_merge_regions() internal loop | |
| First Time appeared |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| CPEs | cpe:2.3:o:linux:linux_kernel:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* | |
| Vendors & Products |
Linux
Linux linux Kernel |
|
| References |
|
MITRE
Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: Linux
Published:
Updated: 2026-09-16T10:30:27.478Z
Reserved: 2026-09-11T19:38:34.767Z
Link: CVE-2026-89796
Vulnrichment
No data.
NVD
Status : Received
Published: 2026-09-16T11:16:44.423
Modified: 2026-09-16T11:16:44.423
Link: CVE-2026-89796
Redhat
No data.
OpenCVE Enrichment
No data.
Weaknesses
No weakness.